Life outside the military: Event aims to help female veterans readjust, access resources

View full sizeKimberly Kennedy, a U.S. Navy veteran, pictured in uniform. A resource fair coming up May 31 aims to help female veterans such as Kennedy by providing information, resources and access to assistance they might otherwise not know how to find. Photo courtesy Kimberly Kennedy

GRAND RAPIDS, MI —

When Kimberly Kennedy's discharge ended her 10-year U.S. Navy career, the Grand Rapids woman found a difficult adjustment to life outside the military.

Medical care, even as basic as annual mammograms, was limited, available only on certain days and in other cities. And when she needed major surgery in 2008, Kennedy said services simply weren't up to par.

The difficulties sent her life into a spiral, eventually leaving her homeless and struggling as a single mother to find her way.

It's not an unfamiliar feeling, according to female veteran advocates, who say the women encounter a more challenging assimilation and face many stigmas associated with having been in the military.

But the scenario is improving, said Kennedy, who hopes a May 31 resource fair for military women will ease the transition

To assist those women locally, several West Michigan
organizations are teaming up to provide the fair
to provide veterans information, counseling and assistance
while offering a chance to forge friendships and a sense of community.

The
Women Veterans Resource Fair will take place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. May
31 at the Healthcare for Homeless Veterans Service Center, 620 Century
Ave. SW.

Representatives from the Department of Veterans
Affairs, Goodwill, the Women's Resource Center, Cooley Law School and
the Douglas J. Aveda Institute will be present to provide information,
resources and beauty assistance specifically geared towards female
veterans.

Attendees will also have the opportunity to register
for assistance from the Department of Veterans Affairs if they have not
already done so.

"I didn’t think there was a special place to fit in if you’re a
female and a veteran," Kennedy said. "There’s so much stuff out there —
if it’s not being advertised, then you never know."

Kennedy said the situation for female veterans
like her has gotten much better in recent years, but she
believes there's still a long way to go before the needs of women
veterans are fully met. Even where assistance is already available,
Kennedy said getting the word out to women is a key factor in making
them feel accepted in the veteran community.

According to 2012 statistics from the Department of Veterans Affairs,
there currently are about 50,324 female veterans living in Michigan.
There are about 2.2 million women veterans nationwide, of an estimated
22.3 million total veterans.

More than 1,800 registered female
veterans are covered by the Battle Creek Veterans Affairs Medical
Center, an area that also covers Grand Rapids, Muskegon, Lansing and
Benton Harbor.

Battle Creek Veterans Affairs Medical Center Director Mary Beth Skupien
said the event could provide local veterans organizations with a better
idea of what women veterans need and put them more in touch with a
growing population.

"We are fully committed to serving all
veterans, but an event that specifically targets the needs of women
veterans will only enhance our ability to provide the best care
possible," Skupien said in a statement.

But it's believed that
some female veterans aren't registered and therefore don't receive all
the benefits available to them, said Linda Dietrich of the Grand Rapids
Women's Resource Center.

Dietrich said she hopes the fair will be
an eye-opening experience for women veterans, as well as a place where
they can meet and find others going through similar experiences.

The
community aspect of the fair is what excites disabled veteran Zeneta
Adams, who served in the U.S. Army for eight years during the Iraq War.

"I
feel like we're underrepresented — people don't know our story yet,"
Adams said. "Women in general, military or not, bond on a different
level and open up a lot more. That's why I think this resource fair is
so important — women veterans can see that they're not alone in their
issues."

Fair attendees will receive a free box lunch,
giveaways and mini manicures in addition to the resources and
information presented. All female veterans are encouraged to attend.Email Lauren Gibbons at lgibbon1@mlive.com, and follow her on Twitter.